This book could have been just another birth story book (of which there are many), but the way in which it's told -- the interwoven unfolding of two birth stories, side by side, the style of narration, and the author's ability to describe and recount a scene with such detail, makes Second Chance a memorable and engaging book that I found hard to put down.

Derich’s memoir is also an important contribution to the current international debate about human rights in childbirth and the critical role of respectful maternity care. In today’s world it is no longer acceptable to move ahead with or simply recommend a procedure or a course of care. It is women themselves who get to decide what they are willing to consent to and what to refuse.

Without respect for autonomy and women’s ability to make their own informed decisions about how they want to give birth it will be difficult for caregivers to gain the trust of the women they serve.

Suzanne M. Lang talks with Thais Nye Derich about her path of self-examination and learning to discover that she, like many other women, was a victim of the medical establishment that denied her the human right of birthing her own child. Second Chance, A Mother's Quest for a Natural Birth after Cesarean is not just a book about childbirth, but about control over our own lives and simply, about being human.

Literary Mama’s ABIGAIL LALONDE featured Thais Nye Derich’s memoir, Second Chance: A Mother’s Quest for a Natural Birth after a Cesarean in her “Essential Reading: Mother’s Day” article, where she praised Derich for crushing “the stigma of home birth by juxtaposing her first birth experience, a hospital birth that culminated in an unplanned caesarean, with her second birth experience, a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) home birth…With brutal honesty Derich takes her reader on a journey of more than just her birth experiences.”

There is one moment during the pregnancy of my second child that I attribute to having saved my life. It wasn’t a life-saving cesarean. It wasn’t an amazing doctor who saved me. It wasn’t a drug or a modern life-saving piece of equipment.

I am sitting in a circle of supportive women when I have this realization.

“When I started planning to have a natural birth after delivering my first son via cesarean, I was up against a lot of backlash due to the increased perceived risk of a natural birth after a C-Section. Meditation and visualization kept me centered and strong in my conviction to birth my second child the way that I wanted. For me, giving birth naturally meant more than just avoiding a painful and unnecessary surgery. It meant being empowered to make informed decisions about my pregnancy. It meant honest communication between my maternity care team and myself. Most of all, it meant listening to my instincts, and learning trust in my own body.”

I ordered Thais book and devoured it in a day, shedding tears as I was caught up into the moving story of both her first son’s birth, a cesarean that took her by surprise and left her reeling, and the story of her second son’s birth, the culmination of poignant soul searching coupled with a full immersioninto the world of natural birthing.

I believe in pausing. In fact, I structure my day so that spending time with my kids in the afternoon is a break from the other things I do. I’m on the Mama Advantage podcast talking about the power of pausing: